Over the last 200 years, people have become more and more dependent on energy that they

dig

out of the ground. Over the past 25 years, use of older renewable energy sources has increased and

we have begun to use new renewable energy sources as well. We have realized that our fossil and

atomic fuels will not last forever, and that their use contributes to environmental pollution.

Renewable energy which basically comes from the sun in one way or another provides

opportunities for an unlimited, sustainable energy supply with low environmental impact. And

renewable energy is not just something for the future, but something we can use in our homes

today.

True renewable energy sources are energy supplies that are refilled by natural processes at least as

fast as we use them. All renewable energy comes, ultimately, from the sun. We can use the sun

directly (as in solar heating systems) or indirectly (as in hydroelectric power, wind power, and

power from biomass fuels). Renewable energy supplies can become exhausted if we use them

faster than they become replenished: most of Englands forests were cut down for fuel before the

English started using coal. If used wisely, however, renewable energy supplies can last forever.

There are other alternatives to our typical energy sources that are not renewable. Although these

are alternative energy rather than renewable energy, they use the energy we have more

efficiently than older technologies. In doing this, they help us make our existing energy supplies

last longer and give us more time before we run out of stored fossil and atomic fuels.

Solar energy comes directly from the power of the sun and is used to produce electricity, to produce

heat, and for light. Solar represents a small share of the electric market in the United States about

of one percent of electrical capacity. Solar's contribution to heating and lighting is much larger.

Solar-electric power can be produced either by power plants using the suns heat or by photovoltaic

(PV) technology, which converts sunlight directly to electricity using solar cells. PV technology
is more practical for residential use. Systems to use the heat of the sun directly can be either active

or passive. In active systems, air or liquid circulate through solar collectors and bring heat to where

it is used. In passive systems, buildings are built with windows and heat-absorbing surfaces set up

to maximize solar heating in winter. Either technology is suitable for residential use.

Systems to directly use the light of the sun are most common. The most usual device for using

sunlight is the window, but skylights and skylight tubes are also used.

pHotovoltaic (PV) energy offers substantial benefits for society in that it is a zero-emission energy

source, is inexhaustible, and is of domestic origin offering much greater security than imported

energy sources. However, the high cost of PV energy has until the last decade limited economical

PV uses to relatively specialized off-grid low energy consumption applications. Now, thanks to

ongoing improvements in PV technology and improvements in balance of system components, as

well as experience gained from hundreds of thousands of system installations, PV energy cost and

performance have improved to the point where a large off-grid market is flourishing and the on-

grid market is nearly economic. The main technical factors over the past decade that have led to

improved PV system performance include:

Improved PV module/cell manufacturing techniques and scale that have lowered PV

module costs and resulted in higher module efficiency

Improved inverter performance (better efficiency, reliability, lower cost, improved

protection and monitoring features)

More effective application, design and integration of PV systems

Standardized interconnection requirements (IEEE 1547, IEEE 929, state requirements,

etc.) for grid interactive systems

 Increased acceptance of Net Metering at individual utilities and by state and local

governments

Because of the factors above and support by various government agencies, PV usage worldwide

has grown roughly 15-40% for each of the past 10 years, while the inflation adjusted cost of PV

energy has declined by roughly a factor of 10 over the past two decades and a factor of 2 over the

past decade [1][2]. Today, PV energy costs about 20-40 cents per kilowatt-hour depending on the

specific type of technology used, installation costs, and solar resource availability at the PV site.

In 2004, for the first time ever, PV manufacturing will exceed or approach 1 GW of new modules,

which puts PV about where wind power was a decade ago. PV growth is likely to continue

unabated over the next decade on a trend similar to the recent experience with wind power. This

paper will review some of the technical factors leading to the decline in the cost of PV systems

and the robust growth of PV energy utilization, as well as make some predictions on future trends

and technologies.